In other news, it appears as if 2 more towers have broken ground. A teammate of mine working on the project told me that excavation for the Couture would begin this week. Additionally, work as begun on the BMO Harris Financial Center. Add 2 more towers to the list of projects rising out of Milwaukee's soil.

In other news, it appears as if 2 more towers have broken ground. A teammate of mine working on the project told me that excavation for the Couture would begin this week. Additionally, work as begun on the BMO Harris Financial Center. Add 2 more towers to the list of projects rising out of Milwaukee's soil.

“You have to include Foxconn in the discussion. That’s transformational. I think Foxconn will happen and I think the waves of positive impact from that will affect the entire region and probably the whole state. That’s going to be a massive game-changer."

Governor Scott Walker signed a $3 billion dollar incentive package for technology manufacturer Foxconn to build a plant in Wisconsin. And a new report shows there's broad support for the move from businesses in the state.

Walker laid out the next steps in the process. He said the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation board still needs to approve the deal; it’s scheduled to meet next Thursday. Then, the governor said Foxconn officials will be in Wisconsin a few days later to sign a contract with the state – and to announce exactly where the plant will be located. Walker said if all goes as planned, groundbreaking on the plant will take place next spring.

So there it is, Foxconn will build its 20 million square foot facility in the suburban Milwaukee city of Mt. Pleasant. Hoping to break ground this spring. Man, this thing is going to be massive and it's only going to fuel the current industrial boom happening in the hot I-94 corridor between Milwaukee and Chicago. I will say, I'm happy they chose Racine over Kenosha as this puts Foxconn squarely in Metro Milwaukee and further away from Chicagoland's sphere of influence. So what is up next for Foxconn and Milwaukee? An office tower downtown? Naming rights on the new arena? The $1 billion Corning plant rumored to be following Foxconn? A rumored Madison-area Foxconn development? The rumored Foxconn-related development at Milwaukee's Mitchell International? Stay tuned. Fun times in Brew City.

On a separate but related note, tucked into the Foxconn bill was tax credits for Fiserv, the Brookfield based Fortune 500 company that is rumored to be making the move down I-94 into the city. Reed Street Yards in Walkers Point sounds like it is going to be its final landing point and that would be a HUGE win for downtown Milwaukee and the Walkers Point area.

Racine Mayor Dennis Wiser said he has heard discussions of housing for 6,000 to 8,000 people in Smart City. Beyond that kind of housing development closer to the interstate, he said Racine could encourage new upper-end apartments catering to Foxconn’s research staff members.

“We suspect the final decision for that will rest with Foxconn, and we’re going to try to address it the best we can either way,” Wiser said of housing needs.

Quote:

Wiser said Foxconn could support or accelerate some of Racine’s development efforts. It could create more demand for new housing or office space in the city’s Machinery Row property, which could be cleared for future development. Racine also is in the planning stages to attract a new hotel and convention center development to its downtown lakefront. Visitors to Foxconn could help generate demand for hotel rooms, Wiser said.

Under the current city vision, a hotel with about 150 rooms could be built, Wiser said.

“We have had calls from people saying that if Foxconn arrives, they would go much more than that,” Wiser said.

Looks like Racine County suburbs are about to give this a full-court press. Racine already has a nice, dense, downtown core situated right on Lake Michigan boasting a decent historic building stock. I would love to see that mature into something more with a nice mix of new development (low to mid-rise residential buildings) coupled with some nice historic restoration projects. This could really make Racine take off and challenge Waukesha as, IMO, Milwaukee's anchor suburb.

The $55 million project at 1550 N. Prospect Ave., has been opposed by neighbors who said they didn’t want additional traffic, construction disturbances or blocked views and their alderman, who up until the end, attempted to block the project.

“Nowhere in our ordinances does it say increasing the tax base is a criteria for a zoning change,” said Alderman Robert Bauman, who represents the district where the Goll is located.

Bauman attempted at one point to force the Madison-based project developer, Chris Houden, to put $3.5 million in an escrow account to ensure he would meet unrequired hiring standards. The city attorney later said the idea was illegal.

Bauman and all of those condo owners next door that have been lining his pockets LOSE!!! Thank god. And now, Milwaukee gets another tower!! Between this, the 13-story Farwell tower, Mandel's Portfolio tower, and St. John's new tower, it will be nice to see a few buildings rising in the lower east side.

The amount of hotels under construction, recently constructed, or planned in the Milwaukee Metro is somewhat baffling. Add 2 more in suburban Brookfield. Same company claims to be eying up sites for additional hotels both in the suburbs and downtown.

“We are looking at quite a few development deals, which include other properties in Brookfield, as well as properties in downtown Milwaukee and the other suburbs,” Patel said. “What we are seeing is Brookfield is actually the strongest submarket in all of Milwaukee, outside of downtown.”

As far as downtown Milwaukee, Patel said Hawkeye is evaluating a “variety of sites, but has not locked down anything yet.”

Wondering how far behind a convention center expansion will be. It could be an interesting discussion when the Bradley Center gets demolished. There's a chance to remake that whole corner of downtown with planned projects like a new signature public museum (announced next month), new civic center buildings (potential tower here), Nexus or Embarke (both towers), convention center expansion, 200-room Hilton addition, the next phase of the streetcar up 4th street, another potential convention hotel at the B.C. site, and everything happening up at the arena district.

HKS Holdings is planning to redevelop the 12-story, 120,000-square-foot office tower at northeast corner of North Mayfair Road and West North Avenue into a luxury hotel, according to plans submitted to the city of Wauwatosa.

Since news has been "slow" recently, here's a quick update on Foxconn. Since my last update, Foxconn has hired it's first Wisconsin employee, selected a location for the plant, held a job fair at Marquette University to fill 10,000 positions, is leasing space in Racine County to begin production while their plant is built, and is all but confirmed (in my eyes) as the owner of naming rights to the new arena...

The company said Wednesday its main plant will be bordered by Interstate 94, Braun Road, Highway H and Highway KR, on the southern border of Racine County in Mount Pleasant.

Foxconn also has carved out land to the north, between Highway 11 and Braun Road, for future expansion. Land southeast of Braun Road and Highway H will be used for construction staging and future growth.

Feigin has said in previous interviews that the Bucks have been talking with Foxconn Technology Group about partnerships, including naming rights.

Foxconn has announced plans to build a massive technology complex in Racine County that could employ up to 13,000 people making liquid crystal display panels.

"I ran," was Feigin's response earlier this summer when asked if he had jumped at the opportunity to meet with Foxconn when it was first announced the company was considering a Wisconsin operation.

Sorry, I know it isn't skyscraper news, but it could definitely lead to some with an influx of close to 50,000 direct/indirect workers (if everything pans out) into the metro area. I do believe this deal, along with Fiserv's rumored move down 94 and into the city, could lead to some substantial residential growth downtown which could mean a few more residential towers? Or, maybe some of the planned but stalled projects like Portfolio could get out of the ground? Anyways, there should be an announcement by months end on a shiny, new world-class museum so there's that to look forward to. Let's see what Rinka Chung has up their sleeves. I hope architecturally it gives the Calatrava a run for its money.

Oh yeah, and the BMO parking garage has barricades in front of it. Looks like demo should be starting soon to make way for the BMO Harris Financial Center tower. I have the perfect view from my apartment so expect plenty of photo updates on that one.

A little more on the subject. It will be announced this Saturday at the 2017 Gala. Rinka Chung (Couture, Moderne, Lakefront Gateway Project) is the $150 million project's architect and I'm excited to see what they have up their sleeve.

The museum will remain downtown but Kois declined to comment on specific sites such as speculated-about locations near the Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World or in the Milwaukee Bucks arena district.

Rinka suggested in an interview after the event that Milwaukee Public Museum leaders will strongly consider locations west of the Milwaukee River.

“At this point, I don’t think anyone knows” the next location, Rinka said.

The museum has been located in western downtown Milwaukee throughout its history but that won’t necessarily be the determining factor in the final decision, Kois said.